


What’s a Whumpee Gotta do to Get Some Sleep Around Here?

by Widowfics



Series: Varian and Whumptober 2020 [19]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: (so does the author), Exhaustion, Hurt Varian (Disney), Sleep Deprivation, Whumptober 2020, and so is lance, but angry and catalina are here, don't judge I'm just a freshman, emotionally, he's actually unconscious for like half of this, or anyone, or my parents, this is more important than school, varian overworks himself, what a surprise, what??, why can't my teachers see my point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27183862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Widowfics/pseuds/Widowfics
Summary: He’s paying the price now, though. Angry and Catalina are chattering and ranting about all sorts of different things as they walk, something Varian would usually be fond of, but at the moment it only serves to spur on his headache. He focuses on Lance’s back, trying to stay centered and keep walking behind them. He doesn’t even remember where they’re going, staying upright hard enough as it is. Every jewel and gold piece shimmers at him tauntingly, suddenly making him dizzy, so dizzy…orour boi doesn't know how to take care of himself (and I don't know how to write)
Relationships: Angry | Keira & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Angry | Keira & Rapunzel & Red | Catalina (Disney), Angry | Keira & Red | Catalina & Lance Strongbow, Angry | Keira & Varian (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Red | Catalina, Lance Strongbow & Varian, Red | Catalina & Varian (Disney)
Series: Varian and Whumptober 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940524
Comments: 8
Kudos: 135
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	What’s a Whumpee Gotta do to Get Some Sleep Around Here?

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so I just realized I haven't written anything with Lance. Or Angry. Or Catalina. And I absolutely love those characters!! so, uh, here's a fic born out of a sheer desire to write my other fandom children.
> 
> PROMPTS I USED TODAY: exhaustion, sleep deprivation

When Lance, Angry, and Catalina had invited Varian to hang out with them in the capital this morning, he’d been expecting an overall good time. He had to get some stuff anyways, and it’s always nice to be with someone who  _ doesn’t  _ look like they want him dead, especially in the city. And he really does enjoy their company. He’s seen Lance around for a while now, even before his...accident. Everyone in Corona knows him as a friend of the Princess and her boyfriend, but recently he’s been talking with Varian more and more, and now he might even consider it a friendship (he thinks). The girls are fun, too. They don’t know each other as well, but they’ve already been through a couple things together. And they seem to really like it when he’s around, something he’s not quite sure he fully understands.

But now he’s wondering if this whole idea was a mistake, and it’s not even because of the usual reasons for going into the city. Actually, it may or may not have to do with the fact that he hasn’t really, well,  _ slept _ . In days. He’s been meaning to, really! But...between projects and nightmares and spending as much time with Dad as he can and trying not to get killed in his village and  _ nightmares  _ and helping out Rapunzel and Eugene - it just, hasn’t been a priority. 

He’s paying the price now, though. Angry and Catalina are chattering and ranting about all sorts of different things as they walk, something Varian would usually be fond of, but at the moment it only serves to spur on his headache. He focuses on Lance’s back, trying to stay centered and keep walking behind them. He doesn’t even remember where they’re going, staying upright hard enough as it is. Every jewel and gold piece shimmers at him tauntingly, suddenly making him dizzy, so dizzy…

“Varian?”

Varian blinks, slowly tearing his eyes away from one particularly shiny button at the mention of his name (at least, he thinks someone said his name; everything is starting to get foggy). 

He looks away to see one of the girls staring up at him. As his vision starts to focus, he realizes it’s Angry, mouth twisted in a scowl and hand on one hip.

“What?” he says, understanding she must’ve asked him something that he didn’t hear. His head pulses painfully and he squeezes his eyes shut, though he hopes they don’t notice.

“I said-”

Angry is cut off when her sister nudges her with an elbow. She turns to look at Catalina, annoyed, but her annoyance disappears when she follows her stare.

“Hey, are you ok?” she asks Varian, concern in her voice as she studies him with worried eyes.

Lance notices the girls’ change in tone and steps in front of them to get a better look at the boy.

“They’re right buddy. You don’t look too good,” he starts, just now seeing how prominent the dark bags under the kid’s eyes are on his paler than usual face. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” Varian finally responds, caught off guard by all the sudden attention. “Wha-I’m...fine…”

Lance looks far from convinced. “Kid, you can barely talk. What’s going on?”

“I’m ok,” he insists, his sore body screaming the exact opposite. “Um...maybe I just need a second…”

Without warning, Varian stumbles forward, knees finally giving out after hours of no rest. Thankfully, Lance is close enough so that he falls straight into his arms. His eyes widen at the unexpected motion, and behind him Angry and Catalina gasp in surprise. 

“Whoa, ok kid. Ok, I’ve got you,” Lance assures the teen, but he receives no answer. He looks down to find Varian’s eyes closed, and realizes that Varian’s body is limp in his arms.

“He just passed out!” Catalina exclaims, disbelievingly.

“Seriously?” Angry replies, coming closer to Lance to see for herself.

“Girls, girls,” Lance tries to calm them down, while also trying to find a way to hold the unconscious boy more comfortably. He finally decides to simply sweep him up, bridal style, carefully resting the kid’s head against his chest.

“What are we gonna do?” Angry asks, excitement and worry mixing together.

“Is he gonna be ok?” Catalina follows.

“Well,  _ first  _ we’re going to calm down,” Lance orders. The girls settle a little, slightly guilty looks flashing across their faces. “And now we’re probably going to take him to the castle. I think he’s going to be ok…”

He looks down at Varian’s face, which is covered a bit by his long bangs. He can’t help but stare at the dark circles under his eyes that really mean only one thing.

“...besides, I’m pretty sure I know what the issue is.”

~

“Exhaustion? That’s it?”

Lance and Catalina both shoot Angry a look. She opens her mouth to argue, but then stops, thinking better of it.

“Yeah, sorry, that was mean,” she apologizes. She’s still getting used to things like manners, and empathy. Lance tells her it comes with time. 

“It’s ok,” Rapunzel, who had just joined them from the medical wing, says with a smile. “Yes, the royal medic said he’s just exhausted and he needs a lot of rest. He’s gonna be completely fine.”

“But I don’t understand,” Catalina cuts in. “Why is he so tired?”

“Knowing him, it’s probably cause he hasn’t slept in a week,” Eugene answers, leaning over from behind his girlfriend’s chair with his arms slung over her shoulders. “That kid has  _ no  _ regard for self care.”

Now it’s Eugene’s turn to get a glare from Rapunzel and Lance when the girls look even more confused. 

“I uh- I mean, he’s always crazy busy with projects,” he tries to correct, standing upright and waving his hands. “You know Varian, you can never pull him out of his science!”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Catalina continues, unconvinced by Eugene’s answers. “Why would he hang out with us then? He could’ve been sleeping.”

“Yeah, I thought he was supposed to be a genius or something,” Angry adds. “That’s not really smart. At all.”

The three adults look at each other uncomfortably. Through just facial expressions, they seem to come to some sort of decision.

Rapunzel sighs, sliding off her chair and crouching in front of where the two girls sit together. Her face has become serious, as if she has something very important to tell them.

“Girls,” she starts, gently. “There’s...something you should know. About Varian.”

“Is it about him being a criminal?” Angry interrupts. “Cause Lance already told us about that.”

“And you can tell him we understand, cause we were criminals too!” Catalina pipes in.

Rapunzel gives a small laugh, looking down. 

“That’s very sweet of you. And yes, it is sort of about that. But you have to understand that Varian wasn’t a criminal for quite the same reasons you two were. He...hurt people, even if he didn’t mean to. And he went to jail for a year, which is a  _ really _ long time, especially for someone who’s not much older than you guys. Now, the entire thing was a complete mess and there were people in the wrong on both sides. If you guys ever have any questions about it, don’t be afraid to ask me, or Eugene, or Lance.”

The princess pauses in her explanation to gesture at the two men behind her. Then she turns her focus back on the girls.

“The point I’m trying to make, is that all that time -  _ alone  _ \- it messed with Varian. And he’s still trying to recover. He’s never going to be quite the same, which is why he’s going to do things that you guys, or most people, for that matter, won’t understand. Some pretty bad things happened to him, and it makes him think and act differently now.”

“What kind of things?” Angry asks, suddenly ashamed about how she treats her friend, even if that’s how she treats everyone else. She knew something had happened to him, but she had never really thought about it before.

Rapunzel presses her lips together, as if she’s deciding whether to tell them.

“I...don’t think it’s my place to tell you. If you feel like you have to know, I think it would be best to ask him yourself. But don’t feel bad if he doesn’t want to tell you. He did go through a lot, and some people don’t like to talk about it.”

The girls nod understandingly, and Lance stands up from his chair and kneels next to Rapunzel. He gives them an encouraging smile.

“All this is to say, Varian is still a kid, too, and we want him to be able to act like one. But at the same time, he has problems he has to deal with, and it’s not right to ignore them.”

Rapunzel nods in agreement, looking up as Eugene comes to stand next to them.

“So that’s why he kept himself awake?” Catalina confirms.

“It could’ve been for a number of reasons,” Rapunzel responds. “Work, of course, but also, he just might not have felt safe. Who knows what sleeping in prison was like. And nightmares. Those are a big thing too.”

Catalina glances back at the double doors leading to the infirmary, where she knows Varian is sleeping peacefully right now.

“I feel so bad for him…” she says quietly.

“Look, guys,” Eugene starts. “We’re not telling you all these things to scare you. But you should know about it. It’s not good to keep you in the dark, and Goggles needs all the help he can get.”

“So,” Lance breaks in, finishing for his friend. “What do you girls say? Do you think you can help?”

The sisters look at each other, considering the question between themselves. Then they look at the three people in front of them. They share a smile.

“You can count on us!”

**Author's Note:**

> have you ever watched a TTS edit? cause I have, and those things are the sole reason I'm getting through school rn
> 
> thx for reading:)


End file.
